1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a computer program product, and an image processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A so-called electronic information board has been marketed that is provided with a touch panel mounted on a display unit, such as a flat panel including a liquid crystal television or a plasma display or a large screen of 40 to 60 inches using a projector. The electronic information board is able to display a screen of a personal computer in a greater size when the electronic information board is connected to the personal computer. Therefore, the electronic information board is used for presentations at meetings in companies or administrative organizations, or used in educational institutions. Besides, the electronic information board provides a computer operation function that enables to operate the personal computer by touching the display unit via the mounted touch panel instead of operating a mouse of the personal computer while the screen of the personal computer is being displayed on the display unit.
In addition, application software to be executed on the personal computer connected to the electronic information board has been provided together with the electronic information board. The application software provides a handwriting function, which enables to display a screen serving as a black board on the electronic information board and enables to draw handwritten characters on the screen by using the touch panel, import the screen of the personal computer executing the application software, and draw handwriting (stroke) on the imported screen in a superimposed manner. With use of the handwriting function as described above, it becomes possible to directly write comments or the like onto the display unit while a document for explanation at a meeting or the like is being displayed on the electronic information board, or it becomes possible to store the contents of the screen including the writing in the storage unit if needed. Therefore, it becomes possible to efficiently summarize the conclusion of the meeting by reviewing the contents of the screen displayed on the electronic information board after the end of the meeting or by reusing the contents of the screen stored in the storage unit.
If the handwriting function is used in the meeting, it becomes possible to display and input necessary information by operating the electronic information board without interrupting the meeting. However, in the electronic information board, there is a limitation on the number of display images (for example, documents displayed for explanation at the meeting or screens of the personal computer) that can be displayed on a single screen while maintaining the readability of the images. Therefore, if the number of the display images increases, it becomes difficult to overview the flow of a discussion at the meeting from the display images. Furthermore, if the number of writings in the display images increases, it becomes difficult to distinguish important writings from other writings. Therefore, the important writings written in a plurality of display images are pasted in a summary image to extract the writings from the display images.
There is a need to provide an image processing apparatus, a computer program product, and an image processing system capable of assisting re-arrangement of writings so that a user can efficiently organize a discussion when using the electronic information board.